The invention pertains to protective garments for athletes.
Many devices have been proposed and used in the past for protective pads and like apparatus for use by athletes, especially those in contact sports such as football and hockey. The shoulder pads currently used in such games, well known and familiar to the general public, are representative of the problems the prior art protective devices pose.
In general, the prior art pads are made of layers of heavy rigid material such as leather held on by straps. Although many changes have been made over the years, the basic design has remained the same. The weight of the pads leads to fatigue, and is uncomfortable. The rigidity of the material makes the pads liable to shift when hit, or when the athlete moves within the gear, leaving the wearer vulnerable. Because the surface of the pads is hard, they can cause injury to the members of the opposing team. Although some efforts have been made to alleviate this (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,146,461 issued to one of the inventors herein) the pads so made have met with little success.
It is thus an object of the invention to provide a protective garment which will provide adequate protection to an athlete, while being light in weight.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a protective garment which will be comfortable to wear.
It is a still further object of the inventor to provide a protective garment in which the padding will not shift, leaving the wearer unprotected.
The materials used in prior art pads have, in general, been in the form of rigid plates of set form, which fit haphazardly to the athlete's body. This lessens the protection available.
It is an object of the invention to provide a protective device which will conform to the body of the wearer.
Earlier designs tend to restrict the freedom of movement of the wearer. This is especially critical to quarterbacks in football, or hockey players in general. The pads are incapable of moving with the joint to be protected, if any attempt is made to protect the joints at all.
It is thus an object of the invention to provide a padded garment which will allow the wearer to move freely, while still providing adequate protection.